Sombres Dessins - Extrait de Parfum 1.7oz

Not being a perfumer, having no special gift or predisposition to compose, is a huge frustration for me. I have ideas, I know the raw materials for having distilled some in Vietnam and I know the perfume vocabulary from working in Grasses. But I will always be missing the talent to express myself, fragrances that haunt me, that grow on me. However, this frustration is overcome by the richness of my encounters with perfumers who embrace my stories. It’s like being a writer who meets an illustrator with his own style and who will create a universe that someone else would see another way.

During my years in Grasses, I was lucky enough to be sent to India and to experience the distillation of Mysore sandalwood. It left me a unique memory of creamy, saturated, almost deafening notes. And such a strong fragrance! Clothes and skin seemed soaked in it. It is hard to forget such an alchemy when you’ve experienced it.

Beyond that note which has become a fantasy (you can no longer use Mysore sandalwood; the forests are protected after having been overexploited ...), I needed a story to give volume to a single note. Sandalwood is good, but it is a bit monotonous on its own. The trilogy taking shape, the personality of “Sombre Dessins” ("Dark Designs") imposed itself during a discussion with friends, suddenly becoming obvious.

For me sandalwood expresses a dark beauty. The opulence of its oil and its strength makes it an extraordinary raw material in the longevity of a composition. By itself, it's almost supernatural, it’s a potion that embraces you, it’s mesmerizing, it’s the Holy Grail of raw materials when we wish to express sensuality.

Like most Jovoy’s perfumes, the name "Sombres Dessins" revolves around a pun. We could have called it “Sombre desseins”, "Dark Intentions". But he who wears it doesn’t have those intentions. He is not Machiavellian, he doesn’t not need to be.

He has a natural understanding of our codes, standards and of how things work. On his skin, his perfume is a trap. It is a hot and sweet cocoon full of intoxicating spices and hidden flowers. It is the Siren’s song from which no one can escape.......Francois Henin (Jovoy)